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J
JMCblue
Participant
October 11, 2018
Question

Elements 19 isn't saving back to Mac Photos

  • October 11, 2018
  • 2 replies
  • 942 views

I'm using Photoshop Elements 19 with Mac Photos (High Sierra).  With Elements 14 I used to drag a photo to the desktop and import back the Elements edited photo, but I was thinking that now that I can open Elements within Photos itself, it should be able to save back to the same spot.  In 19, I am able to open from Photos  by selecting "open with," then "other," and then Elements Editor.  After editing the photo and clicking "save" though, the photo isn't saving back to the original in Photos, or to Photos at all.  Each photo is being sent to some randomly named (numbers and letters), newly created folder that I can't find even using Spotlight Search.  Does anyone know how to get Elements to save back directly to the originally opened photo?

Thanks!

    This topic has been closed for replies.

    2 replies

    virginia74366
    virginia74366
    Participant
    February 7, 2020

    I wish I knew!!! I cant find anything that I've saved!

     

     

     

    virginia74366
    virginia74366
    Participant
    February 7, 2020

    ok.  thanks everyone I thinki can try some of the above...new to mac and used the old photoshop so new to everything!

    Medha_Sharma
    Adobe Employee
    Medha_Sharma
    Adobe Employee
    October 12, 2018

    Hello,

    The randomly named folder mentioned by you is a private folder of the Photos app. Accessing this folder directly isn't possible.

    There are 2 main workflows in this scenario.

    1. When you edit the photo using Elements and then choose the 'Save' option, you'll be greeted with a dialog box stating that a file with the same name already exists in the folder and replacing it would overwrite its contents. If you click on the 'Replace' button, the original photo would be replaced with the edited photo. This replacement would only be evident in the Photos app, the original copy of the image would stay intact.

    2. When you choose the 'Save As' option, the default saving location would correspond to one of the randomly named folders. At this stage, you can specify a custom location of your choice (for e.g. the Desktop) where the image should be saved. Thereafter, you can import the edited images, that were saved on the Desktop, to the Photos app.

    Hope this answers your question!

    Thanks,

    Medha

    J
    JMCblueAuthor
    Participant
    October 12, 2018

    Thanks so much, Medha.  I'm glad to know that not being able to find those folders wasn't user error.  Unfortunately, I wasn't getting the "replace" option in the dialog box after choosing "save," which could have been a facet of my "saving files" options under Elements preferences.  But, after playing with those options, I found that if I select "Save Over Current File" under the "On First Save" option, and uncheck the "Save As To Original Folder" box, the edited photo saves directly back to the Mac Photos application.  And, the option to revert back to the original (unedited) version of the photo is still available in Photos.   Problem solved, and no need to export and import the photo via desktop between Photos and Elements.

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